During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
LRO and LCROSS were launched together on the same rocket in June 2009. LRO maps the Moon from lunar orbit. LCROSS crashes (on purpose!) near the South Pole. Images courtesy of NASA.
LRO and LCROSS are two space missions sent by NASA to Earth's Moon. LRO and LCROSS were launched from Florida in June 2009. The two spacecraft were launched together on one rocket.
LRO stands for "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter". LRO is in orbit around the Moon. It is taking very detailed pictures of the Moon's surface. These pictures will be used to make a better new map of the Moon. That map will help scientists plan other Moon missions that are coming up in the next few years.
LCROSS stands for Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite. LCROSS will crash into the Moon on purpose! It will hit the Moon near the South Pole on October 9, 2009. LCROSS is trying to detect signs of water ice in craters near the Moon's South Pole. The Centaur upper stage of the rocket that launched LRO and LCROSS will crash into a crater near the South Pole. Scientists think there might be water ice in that crater. The crash will create a large plume of material when the Centaur explodes upon impact. LCROSS will use instruments to search for signs of water molecules within the plume. The LCROSS spacecraft will also smash into the Moon soon after the Centaur rocket. Telescopes on Earth will watch both crashes.
The North and South Pole of the Moon are interesting places. Some areas near the Moon's poles are almost always in sunlight. Other places near the poles are always in dark shadows. Earth is tilted on its...more
Have you ever looked up and wished that you could take a closer look at the Moon or see the rings of Saturn? You have probably seen photographs of distant galaxies, exploding stars, and glowing nebulas. ...more
Satellites and robot spacecraft are important to space exploration. They let us explore space safely. Click on the link below to learn more about these missions. Canada's first space telescope, MOST, was...more
Have you ever wondered what you are made of? Where did the elements come from that make up your body? The elements that make up your body are the same elements found on the Earth. Where did those Earth...more
The ACE spacecraft consists of a two-deck irregular octagon, about 1.6 meters (65 inches) across and about 1 meter (40 inches) high. Eight of the scientific instruments which measure a variety of particle...more
Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harold Schmitt were the last humans to walk on the Moon, in the final mission of the Apollo space program. Together with Ronald Evans, they lifted off on Dec. 7, 1972 aboard...more
Ulysses is a spacecraft that is traveling around the Sun. Ulysses is orbiting around the top and bottom of the Sun. No other spacecraft has ever done this...so Ulysses gets to measure things no other...more
COSPIN is one of the instruments on the Ulysses spacecraft. COSPIN stands for the COsmic and Solar Particle INvestigation. Try saying that fast three times! COSPIN is actually made up of 5 different sensors....more
LRO/LCROSS mission overview video from NASA
